Pest Status and Management of a Creiss psyllid in Eucalyptus plantations. Research studies are required on the ecology and epidemiology of a Creiis psyllid, recently found causing significant damage in young Eucalyptus dunnii plantations. The susceptibility to psyllid damage to a range of selected clonal types will be examined. With increasing community concerns associated with insecticide usage and to reduce costs, exploitation of natural resistance is an avenue that counters economic threat f ....Pest Status and Management of a Creiss psyllid in Eucalyptus plantations. Research studies are required on the ecology and epidemiology of a Creiis psyllid, recently found causing significant damage in young Eucalyptus dunnii plantations. The susceptibility to psyllid damage to a range of selected clonal types will be examined. With increasing community concerns associated with insecticide usage and to reduce costs, exploitation of natural resistance is an avenue that counters economic threat from herbivorous insects. Since Australia is currently planting 100,000 ha of eucalypts per year results from this project are essential to build better management strategies for reduce the impact of this and all pests on tree survival and growth.Read moreRead less
Soil physical limitations to growth in sub-tropical hardwood plantations. Large areas of eucalypt plantations are being established to replace native forest wood production in many areas of Australia. A major impediment facing the industry in subtropical eastern Australia is inappropriate site species matching. This is largely due to lack of understanding of the major soil types in the region and the effect on growth of different species. This project will compare site productivity and soil ch ....Soil physical limitations to growth in sub-tropical hardwood plantations. Large areas of eucalypt plantations are being established to replace native forest wood production in many areas of Australia. A major impediment facing the industry in subtropical eastern Australia is inappropriate site species matching. This is largely due to lack of understanding of the major soil types in the region and the effect on growth of different species. This project will compare site productivity and soil characteristics in two major hardwood species and investigate fundamental relationships between soil characteristics and tree root growth. The outcome will be a mechanistic understanding of soil physical limitations to tree growth.Read moreRead less
Insect herbivore and plant responses in eucalypt forests under climate change at physiological, species and community scales. Understanding the drivers for insect populations and vulnerabilities to climate change are the first steps to predicting adaptation and mitigation strategies to minimise impacts of climate change on forest biodiversity. Our research will quantify the outcome of climate change on the still neglected but important insect community associated with eucalypts in Australian for ....Insect herbivore and plant responses in eucalypt forests under climate change at physiological, species and community scales. Understanding the drivers for insect populations and vulnerabilities to climate change are the first steps to predicting adaptation and mitigation strategies to minimise impacts of climate change on forest biodiversity. Our research will quantify the outcome of climate change on the still neglected but important insect community associated with eucalypts in Australian forests. These insect communities are widespread, diverse and quintessential for the Australian economy and ecology. Apparent climate change is expected to cause biodiversity shifts, leading to outbreaks and extinctions of insects in eucalypt forests. Negative outcomes of impacts could also include the accumulation of leaf litter, increasing bush fire activity in the future.Read moreRead less
Wood quality improvement for spotted gum. Eucalypts are one of the world's top sources of hardwood saw and pulp logs. This project will provide a model for accelerated tree improvement for wood quality. The aim is to link genes for wood formation with wood quality phenotypes in spotted gum, a priority hardwood eucalypt for Northern Australia. The significance of the approach is time and costs saved in the deployment of plantations of higher wood quality through the circumvention of delays to gen ....Wood quality improvement for spotted gum. Eucalypts are one of the world's top sources of hardwood saw and pulp logs. This project will provide a model for accelerated tree improvement for wood quality. The aim is to link genes for wood formation with wood quality phenotypes in spotted gum, a priority hardwood eucalypt for Northern Australia. The significance of the approach is time and costs saved in the deployment of plantations of higher wood quality through the circumvention of delays to generate populations required for alternative approaches and early selection available with molecular breeding.Read moreRead less
Understanding the health effects of landscape burning and biomass smoke in Australian towns and cities. Bushfires are increasingly affecting Australian towns and cities directly and indirectly from episodes of severe air pollution. An approach to manage bushfires is to reduce fuel loads by setting planned fires under stable weather conditions, yet this strategy is controversial because of community concerns about ecological sustainability and negative health impacts from smoke. The relative im ....Understanding the health effects of landscape burning and biomass smoke in Australian towns and cities. Bushfires are increasingly affecting Australian towns and cities directly and indirectly from episodes of severe air pollution. An approach to manage bushfires is to reduce fuel loads by setting planned fires under stable weather conditions, yet this strategy is controversial because of community concerns about ecological sustainability and negative health impacts from smoke. The relative importance of air pollution from planned and unplanned bushfires vs. wood heaters, agricultural burning and other sources of air pollution will be determined. Our study will enable evidence-based bushfire smoke management, help formulate national air quality standards and shape policies regarding biomass smoke and bushfire management.Read moreRead less
Bushfire smoke and the relationship between human and landscape health. A team of landscape ecologists, environmental chemists and public health specialists will determine the ecological causes and adverse health effects of different levels of bushfire smoke in Darwin. Darwin is an ideal setting for this research because the only source of air pollution is the high incidence of controlled and uncontrolled bushfires during the dry season causing variable air quality: a preliminary study found a ....Bushfire smoke and the relationship between human and landscape health. A team of landscape ecologists, environmental chemists and public health specialists will determine the ecological causes and adverse health effects of different levels of bushfire smoke in Darwin. Darwin is an ideal setting for this research because the only source of air pollution is the high incidence of controlled and uncontrolled bushfires during the dry season causing variable air quality: a preliminary study found a link between smoke pollution levels and asthma. The findings of the proposed research will contribute to improved fire management practices to reduce injurious smoke pollution events and contribute to setting appropriate national air quality standards.Read moreRead less
Combating myrtle rust, a new disease threatening Australia’s unique flora. This project aims to reduce the impact of myrtle rust, an invasive plant disease. Myrtle rust is a globally significant biodiversity threat that is rapidly spreading to new regions. It affects many iconic native species as well as impacting commercial industries. The expected project outcomes are; a comprehensive understanding of the host genes involved in successful plant defence, and of the pathogen genes involved in th ....Combating myrtle rust, a new disease threatening Australia’s unique flora. This project aims to reduce the impact of myrtle rust, an invasive plant disease. Myrtle rust is a globally significant biodiversity threat that is rapidly spreading to new regions. It affects many iconic native species as well as impacting commercial industries. The expected project outcomes are; a comprehensive understanding of the host genes involved in successful plant defence, and of the pathogen genes involved in the establishment of parasitism. The project will employ new approaches that enhance the application of biotechnology to Australian biosecurity. Key expected benefits are; gene-specific tools for plant breeders and conservation land managers, and improved preparedness for the threat posed by new rust strains.Read moreRead less
Mixed species plantations: does diversity help tropical eucalypts grow faster, better, longer? To test the assumption that mixtures are better than monocultures, using data from experiments (QFRI) and community plantings. Growth rate, habit (form, branching), timber and soil characteristics in Eucalyptus pellita (Red Mahogany) plantings should elucidate whether mixtures:
1. grow (above-ground woody biomass) faster than pure plantings;
2. have straighter trees with smaller branches;
3. improve ....Mixed species plantations: does diversity help tropical eucalypts grow faster, better, longer? To test the assumption that mixtures are better than monocultures, using data from experiments (QFRI) and community plantings. Growth rate, habit (form, branching), timber and soil characteristics in Eucalyptus pellita (Red Mahogany) plantings should elucidate whether mixtures:
1. grow (above-ground woody biomass) faster than pure plantings;
2. have straighter trees with smaller branches;
3. improve soil fertility; and whether
4. differences are accentuated in subsequent rotations.
E. pellita has valuable dark-red timber, and is widely planted in north Queensland, despite variable performance (3-30 m3/ha/yr, average 10m3/ha/yr). Analyses will reveal opportunities for conservation outcomes and sustainable timber production.Read moreRead less
Stabilization of hydrology at waste disposal sites through revegetation. Persistent drought in the past 20 years has increased the extraction of groundwater reserves by more than 2-fold to meet domestic water requirements throughout Australia. This water resource could be threatened from poorly managed waste disposal sites, where removal of pre-existing vegetation often exacerbates adverse hydrological processes of deep drainage. This study will provide information for the waste management indus ....Stabilization of hydrology at waste disposal sites through revegetation. Persistent drought in the past 20 years has increased the extraction of groundwater reserves by more than 2-fold to meet domestic water requirements throughout Australia. This water resource could be threatened from poorly managed waste disposal sites, where removal of pre-existing vegetation often exacerbates adverse hydrological processes of deep drainage. This study will provide information for the waste management industry that has achieved an annual turnover of more than $200 million in recent years. It will present recommendations on how vegetation can be employed to meet regulatory requirements by the industry.Read moreRead less
Understanding plant uptake of organic and inorganic nitrogen for optimal fertiliser application in forestry. Nitrogen (N) in soils occurs in both organic and inorganic forms. Plants can take up inorganic N - nitrate and ammonium - but, on average, these account for only 5% of the soluble N in soils. Recent evidence suggests that plants may be able to tap into some of the 95% of N that occurs in organic forms. We will investigate the importance of organic N uptake for two plantation Eucalyptus sp ....Understanding plant uptake of organic and inorganic nitrogen for optimal fertiliser application in forestry. Nitrogen (N) in soils occurs in both organic and inorganic forms. Plants can take up inorganic N - nitrate and ammonium - but, on average, these account for only 5% of the soluble N in soils. Recent evidence suggests that plants may be able to tap into some of the 95% of N that occurs in organic forms. We will investigate the importance of organic N uptake for two plantation Eucalyptus species by tracing the uptake of different N forms by bacteria, fungi and eucalypts. This information will redefine what is meant by 'available N' and will guide the development of a new test for soil N status.Read moreRead less